Minutes that Matter: Elevating School Leadership with Effective Meeting Strategies
- Dr. Jacqueline Arce
- May 17
- 6 min read
Updated: May 20
Why Effective Meetings Are Essential for School Leadership
We’ve all seen the memes about meetings that could have been an email. Or the memes about teachers wanting the gift of time over any other cheesy teacher appreciation gift. Time truly is the most precious commodity for anyone who works in a school system. Yet, teachers and leaders continue to praise the value of collaboration, which undeniably requires time to actually happen. While there are many logistical options for prioritizing collaborative time such as building it into the schedule, having regular rotating meeting times, utilising early release/late start days, and hiring floating subs, the easiest option of all is to ensure that the time we do spend collaborating is both valuable and valued by attendees.
"Time truly is the most precious commodity for anyone who works in a school system."
If you’re a division leader, middle-level leader, or anyone involved in school leadership and facilitation, how can you ensure that these meetings are the best use of time possible?
Balancing Priorities to Maximize Meeting Impact
Before we even dive into the nitty-gritty of meeting facilitation, you first need to examine why you are hosting the meeting in the first place. I typically envision my meetings as having three competing priorities:
Human connection
The day-to-day grind
Forward-thinking initiatives
Your goal as the facilitator is to determine how time will be spent according to these priorities and to share that information transparently with participants so everyone is on the same page and has a successful meeting.
"Human connection is undoubtedly one of the main reasons we need to meet."
Fostering Human Connection in Staff Meetings
Human connection is undoubtedly one of the main reasons we need to meet. We need to see other adults in the school, share our experiences, and build a sense of trust and camaraderie. Social connections in the workplace are a key factor in job satisfaction, well-being, and even productivity. In 2019, the Harvard Review found that employees who feel they belong at work report a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days.. And, of course, happy teachers make for happy schools. Here are some ways you can focus on this priority in meetings:
Have an Inclusion Activity: I usually have a 2-minute question/share at the start of every meeting. Call it an ice breaker if you want, but less cringeworthy. Sometimes it will be simply about personal connection (i.e. “What are everyone’s plans for spring break?”) and sometimes it will be related to the agenda items for the day (i.e.“Blue sky thinking: If you could change anything about our daily schedule, what would it be?”). A colleague of mine starts every meeting with “shoutouts & celebrations,” which is another way to begin with inclusion.
Share the Mic: Letting others have turns to present and/or facilitate helps them feel seen. Our English Department does a strategy share at every meeting; teachers sign up beforehand to do a brief presentation of an instructional strategy that is working for them. Some teams rotate through meeting roles (facilitator, time keeper, note taker).
Allow for Laughter: I know it is SO hard to get through all the agenda items, but we have to allow people to connect through humor and stories while we make our way through the to-do items. On the other hand, allowing people to get way off topic and story-share for too long can also be painful. The absolute best meeting facilitators I’ve seen in my career are people who allow just enough time for that moment to happen before gently encouraging the group to refocus.
Invite Collaboration on the Agenda: Send out a message to others before the meeting to invite them to add items to the agenda. They will feel like time is reserved for the items they find essential.
End on Time: Build trust with your team by saying you will end the meeting when it is supposed to end. They will truly and deeply appreciate this.
Managing the Day-to-Day with a Strong Agenda Structure
The day-to-day grind is usually the majority of the agenda items. There are things we just need to get done in a timely manner, and we need to share that information with others or get their input. To keep this on track, have a strong agenda set up. I set up my agendas as a rolling document for all the year’s team meetings on one document. Each new meeting goes at the top, so it is the first one we see. It has the date, the attendees, and the absentees. Then, I have a three-column table for every meeting:
Time/Type | Agenda Item | Notes & Follow Up |
|---|---|---|
Identify how much time will ideally be spent on the item. To help participants know what to expect from each item, identify the item as either a:
| A word or phrase that indicates what will be discussed | Notes from what is discussed and any follow-up action items. Tag people in the document or use names to indicate who is responsible for the follow-up. |
Example: Discussion- 20 min | Last day of school schedule |
|
Additionally, a mechanism should be used to self-check whether the items on the agenda truly need to be discussed in person. If you are using the “information” tag for an item, ensure it is one that needs to be shared/explained in person rather than something that could be communicated in writing.
Making Room for Forward-Thinking Initiatives
It is important that our meetings do not become overrun with managerial tasks and housekeeping. While the daily grind is the bulk of the work, we want to become better, stronger schools with every task we take on. When we refer to transformational leadership, we are talking about leaders with vision. Visions don’t just happen– they need people and time to make them a reality. Teams led by leaders who clearly communicate vision and purpose are 3 times more likely to report being highly effective and experience higher collaboration and lower turnover (Mckinsey & Company, 2019).
“Visions don’t just happen—they need people and time to make them a reality.”
Your school or team might be considering a new initiative, discussing professional learning goals, or looking at how to improve learning outcomes. It’s so easy to put these on an agenda and then run out of time before we even get there. Below, I show you some ways to facilitate this in a one-off meeting; however, if you’re considering how to map out future thinking goals throughout the entire school year, you should check out our blog on sustainable PD.
Using the timing system on the agenda above will help ensure that you save time for these essential items. I try to have at least one forward-thinking item on every meeting agenda. If we don’t have a time-keeper, I encourage team members to collectively hold ourselves accountable for the time so we can cover all items.
Using Protocols to Lead More Effective Meetings
Daily grind and forward-thinking items can benefit from using a protocol to facilitate. A protocol is a structured process that guides a group through a specific kind of conversation or task. Think of it like a game plan—it tells people what to do, in what order, and how long to spend on each part so the meeting stays focused and productive. They also ensure that everyone has an opportunity to talk and contribute. Selecting the proper protocol for what you want to accomplish is essential. Some protocols are good for:
Idea generation
General discussion
Gaining consensus
Feedback loops
Here are a few examples to get you started, but you can find many more on https://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/as-resources or even with a simple ChatGPT search!
Type | Name | Directions |
|---|---|---|
Idea generation | Gallery walk and penny payout | Hang posters with prompts around the room. Participants write responses and ideas on sticky notes and stick these to the posters. After 10 or so minutes of brainstorming, participants walk around and read one another’s responses. To add the penny payout, all participants get five “pennies” (can symbolize this as a star or smiley face) to spend on the ideas they see. They simply draw their star on the sticky note of their favorite idea. They can “spend” all of them in one place or distribute them as they see fit. |
General discussion | SIT | Break into small groups. Each member of the group identifies what was: S(surprising), I(interesting), and T(troubling) about the idea/reading/topic/ presentation. |
Gaining consensus | The focusing four | The facilitator asks for ideas to respond to a particular prompt or issue.
|
Feedback loops | Tuning in | Someone presents an idea or strategy. Five rounds follow this.
|
Building connection (inclusion activities) | Check-in | Here are ten check-in prompts that work great as an inclusion activity at the start of a meeting. |
BONUS RESOURCE: Check out our Learning Strategies Playbook for more collaborative protocols designed for the classroom, many of which also work well in teacher meetings. It’s an excellent way for teachers to try out protocols before using them with students. |
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Applying the SCARF Model for Collaborative Meeting Culture
As you can see above, strong leadership and meeting facilitation means taking the tools at your disposal and selecting the right ones for your people, context, and goal. There is no magic formula. One way to help guide your decisions is to use the SCARF model as a reference. In essence, the SCARF Model, developed by David Rock, identifies five social domains that influence human behavior in collaborative settings. Understanding and applying SCARF in meetings can reduce threat responses and increase engagement, trust, and participation. SCARF stands for:
Status – Our relative importance to others
💡Tip for meetings: Acknowledge all voices equally. Use protocols or turn-taking to avoid dominance.
Certainty – The ability to predict the future
💡Tip: Share the agenda, timeframes, and outcomes up front. Be clear about goals and decision-making processes.
Autonomy – A sense of control over events
💡Tip: Give participants choices or ownership (e.g., breakout roles, selecting priorities). Avoid micromanaging.
Relatedness – Feeling safe and connected with others
💡Tip: Build relationships with check-ins or team-building. Use inclusive language and small group discussions.
Fairness – Perception that exchanges are just and equitable
💡Tip: Be transparent with information and decision-making. Ensure all voices are heard and respected.
Using SCARF in meeting facilitation helps create a brain-friendly environment where people feel safe, valued, and motivated to contribute, leading to more effective collaboration and stronger team dynamics.
“I often say that a well-run meeting takes double the time to plan for and double the time to follow up on the action notes than the time actually spent meeting together.”
Bringing It All Together: Leading with Purpose and Strategy
I know, it’s a lot to think about. I often say that a well-run meeting takes double the time to plan for and double the time to follow up on the action notes than the time actually spent meeting together. But all that time and effort is worth it if it creates strong, collaborative, and effective teams.
With some intention and planning, you can lead your teams to success.
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